Question: What is the greatest common factor of $24$ and $36$ ? Another way to say this is: $\operatorname{gcf}(24, 36) = {?}$
Solution: The greatest common factor is the largest number that is a factor of both $24$ and $36$ The factors of $24$ are $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ $6$ $8$ $12$ , and $24$ The factors of $36$ are $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ $6$ $9$ $12$ $18$ , and $36$ Thus, the greatest common factor of $24$ and $36$ is $12$. $\operatorname{gcf}(24, 36) = 12$